Method and apparatus for sounding articles



G. E.. MlRFlELD IBTHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ROUNDING ARTICLES Dee. 1, 1925.l Re. A16.220

Original Filed July 11, 1922 Reissued Dec. l, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. MIRFIELD, OF YOUNGS'IAOWN, OHIO.

METHQD AND APPARATUS ron noUNmNG ARTICLES.

Orig-inal No. 1,548,731, dated August 4, 1925, Serial No. 574,185, filed July 11, 1922. Application for reissue led. October 29, 1925.-

T0 all inkom t may concern.'

Be it kno-wn that I, GEORGE E. Minrinnl), a citizen of the United States, and residing at Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Imgovement in Methods and Apparatus for ounding Articles, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

The present invention relates broadly to metal bending, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for rounding circular objects such as rods, bars, pipes'and the like.

In connection with the manufacture of pipe, it is quite customary at the present time to round the ends thereof prior to the threading operation. This has been found essential as the pipes are usually not truly circular and it is therefore diicult to produce an accurate thread thereon.

In accordance with one method which is commonly used for rounding pipes and other objects, there is provided a lower supportingmember usually termed a rounding` block, having a supporting surface conforming to the curvature of the object to beA rounded and adapted to extend around a substantial portion of the circumference thereof. Cooperating. therewith there is provided a; second rounding block having a curved supporting surface having a greater radius than the radius of the object being operatedl upon, whereby this supportingI surface extends eccentric to the surface of such object. The second rounding block is usually adjustable whereby it may be gradually moved towardV the surface' of the object to thereby increase its operating action thereon. During such movement of the second rounding block there is produced a relative rotational movement between the same and the object being rounded. This is usually., though. not necessarily, accomplishedV by rotating the object with respect to the rounding blocks.

It has been found that with this method the friction of the rounding surfaces against theI pipe or other object is so great that it is practically impossible to provide rounding blocks having a sulfici'ent area to cooperate at onetime with the entire portion of the surface of the object which it is desired to round. Such rounding blocks, due to this Serial No. 65,690.

friction, are rapidly worn away and it therefore becomes necessary to frequently renew the same. Another objection to an apparatus of the character described arises from the' tendency of the rounding blocks to force or grind the sca-le into the surface of the object being rounded and thereby interfere with the action of the threading die and tending to quickly dull the same.

By the. present invention the objections to an apparatus of this character are entirely obviated and there is provided rmeans for quickly and accurately rounding the entire portion of the surface of an object as found necessary.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown, for purposes of illustration only, one embodiment of the present invention, it being understood that the dra-wings do not define the limits of my invention and that changes may be made in-the construction and operation disclosed therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope ofmy broader claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is an end elevation' partly broken away and partly in section, illustrating one form of apparatus for carrying out the present invention and Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line II-II of Figure l.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention there is shown a housing 2 having supported therein a rounding' block 3 provided with a curved surface 4 substantially conforming to the theoretically true curvature of the object 5to be rounded.v Vertically movable within the housing 2l is' a second rounding block 6 having anoperating connection of any desired construction with a screw-down 7 whereby the second rounding block may be' moved toward! and away from the surface of the object to be: rounded.l The rounding block 6 has a curved surface which extendsv eccentric to the surface of theA object 5 as illustrated. The curved surfaces 4 and 8 of the rounding blocks may each be hardened in any desired manner in accord` ance with well known practice to increase the life thereof.

For decreasing the friction which normally exists between the rounding blocks and the object being rounded, I entirely obviate the scraping or rubbing friction which usually occurs and provide a supporting surface comprising a plurality of rolling contacts. This may be accomplished by utilizing a series of rollers 9 rotatably carried in a suitable cage 10 similar in many respects to a roller bearing. This cage with its ro-llers U is mounted between the rounding blocks, and the end of the object 5 to be rounded is then slipped therethrough. A relative rotational movement between the object and the rounding blocks is then produced whereby the rollers 9 tend to travel along the supporting surfaces in the rounding blocks and thereby successively and individually engage different portions of the surface to be rounded.

In operation, it will be apparent that by reason of the curvature of the supporting surface 4, the rollers 9 uniformly act upon a substantial portion of the surface of the object 5. Due, however, to the formation of the surface 8, the action of the individual rollers is successivelyr increased as the same travel toward the center line of the rounding block where the surface 8 of the block 6 lies nearest to the surface of the object being rounded. As the rollers 9 are in spaced relationship, it will be obvious that at certain times there is no roller in position to exert its maximum flexing action or rounding action on theobject 5. At this time the screw-down 7 may be comparatively easily operated to move the block 6 nearer the object whereby when the next roller comes into position coinciding with the center line of this block, it will exert a still further action on the object. This constitutes a practical advantage over the apparatus as heretofore utilized, wherein it has been necessary to provide an operating handle of considerable length for turning down the upper rounding block against the object being rounded due to the enormous friction developed.

As the strength of a metal article is increased by the mechanical work done thereon, it will be apparent that the rollers 9 produce a harder and denser surface on the object. They are also effective for loosening the scale therefrom and permitting it to drop away whereby it does not subsequently interfere with the threading operation. This enables a smooth thread to be formed with less wear on the die or cutter.

The present construction is such as to adapt the same for use with pipe cutting, rounding or threading machines of standard construction, and is equally adaptable for operation upon circular rods or bars.

The advantages of the present invention arise from the provision of a plurality of rolling contacts for engaging and supporting-the object being rounded, and from the method whereby different operations may be performed with a minimum of friction on different portions of the surface of the object being rounded.

I claim:

l. In the method of rounding circular objects, the steps consisting of supporting an object at a plurality of spaced points, producing relative movement between the ocr-:r and the points of support, moving the points about the axis of the object, and progressively varying the operating pressuie of successive points of support, substantially as described.

2. In the method of rounding circular objects, the steps consisting in providing plurality of rolling supports for the object, producing relative movement between the object and said supports, moving the supports about the axis of the object, and progressively varying the operating pressure of successive points of support, substantially as described.

3. In the method of rounding circular objects, the steps consisting in support-ing the object at a plurality of spaced points, producing relative movement between the object and the points of support, and moving the supports about the aXis of the object and varying the effect of the points of support in opposite directions during such relative movement, substantially as described.

4. In the method of rounding circular objects, the steps consisting in producing relative rotational movement between the object and rounding means traveling about the circular object, uniformly acting upon the object throughout a substantial portion of its circumference during such movement and variably acting upon another portion of the circumference during such movement, substantially as described.

In the method of rounding circularobjects, the steps consisting in providinc rounding means, producing relative rotational movement between the object and the rounding means, and at the same time causing the rounding means to travel about the object, uniformly acting upon the object throughout a substantial portion of its circumference during such movement, and variably and successively acting upon other portions of the circumference thereof during' such movement, substantially as described.

6. In the method of rounding circular objects, the steps consisting in entirely supporting the object by a plurality of rolling contacts traveling about the object and its support, and successively varying the efect of said contacts on the surface of the article, substantially as described.

7. In the method of rounding circular objects, the steps consisting in entirely supporting the object by a plurality of rolling contacts traveling about the object and its suppoift, and successively and indiv-'ideally varying the: eect of said contacts on the surface of the article, substantially as clescribed. i y,

8. In the method ofy rounding circular objects, tlie steps of producing relative rotary movement between a concave rounding die and an object to be rounded, and causing rollers to roll about such object and over tlle concave surface of the' rounding die in a path eccentric to the axis of rotation of the object, substantially as described.

9. In the method of rounding circular objects, the steps consisting in engaging the object at a plurality of points by rolling contacts, causing a relative rotary move- `ment of the object and the axes of the contacts, backing up at least some of the contacts, and successively varying the path of travel of the contacts in opposite directions during the process of rounding, substantially as described.

10. In the method of rounding circular objects, the steps consisting in engaging the periphery of the object at a plurality of points by rolling contacts, causing a relative rotar movement of the object and the axes of i t e contacts, backing up at least some of the contacts diametrically opposite their points of engagement with the object, and successively varying the path of travel of the contacts in opposite directions during the process of rounding, substantially as described.

11. In the method of rounding circular objects, the steps consisting in engaging the periphery of the object` at a plurality of substantially equally spaced points by rolling contacts, causing a relative rotary movement between the ob]ect and the axes of the contacts, and backing up the contacts during such relative rotary movement, by a surface not concentric to the surface being rounded, substantially as described.

12. In the method of rounding circular objects, the steps consisting in roviding rolling contacts for the object to e rounded and successively moving said contacts over supporting surfaces extending respectively substantially concentric to the surface of the object, and eccentrically with respect thereto, substantially as described.

13. In an apparatus for rounding circular objects, a supporting member having a supporting surface extending substantially concentric to the surface of the object to be rounded, a second supporting member having a surface extending eccentric with respect to the surface of said object, and a p urality of rolling contacts movable over said supporting surfaces, substantially as described.

14. In an apparatus for rounding circular objects, a supporting member having a supporting surface extending substantially concentric tothe surface ofthe object to be rounded, a second supporting member having'- a surface extending eccentric with respect to the surface of saidf object, a plurality of rolling contacts movable over said supporting surfaces, and means for adjusting the position of one of said supporting members, substantially as described.

15. Iri an: apparatus f'oi` rounding-circular objects, a plurality of' rolling' contactsvr for the surface of the article to be rounded, and means providing a track for said contacts having successive portions extending substantially concentric to the surface of said object, and then eccentric with respect thereto, substantially as described.

16. In an apparatus for rounding circular objects, a supporting member having a surface extending substantially concentric to the surface of the object being rounded, a second supporting member having a supporting surface extending eccentric relatively thereto, and means movable relatively to said surfaces for exerting a rounding action on said object, substantially as described.

17. In an apparatus for rounding circular objects, a supporting member having a surface extending substantially concentric to the surface of the object being rounded, a second supporting member having a sup- 'porting surface extending eccentric relatively thereto, means movable relatively to said surfaces for exerting a rounding action on said object, and means for producing a movement of one of said surfaces with respect to said object, substantially as described. l

18. In an apparatus for rounding cylindrical objects, a supporting member having a curved roller-engaging surface eccentric to the center with Which it cooperates, rollers adapted to besupported by and roll on the arcuate surface of said member and arranged to roll about the object to be rounded, and means for adjusting the supporting member to vary the path of travel of the rollers, substantially as described.

19. In an apparatus for roundin cylindrical objects, a support formed o a plurality of members, each having a concave roller-bearing surface, rollers for engaging the surface of the object to be rounded adapted to roll on the concave surfaces of said members, and means for producing relative movement between the members of the support to vary the path of travel of the rollers, substantially as described.

20. In an apparatus for roundin drical objects, a support formed o a plurality of members, each havin a concave roller-bearing surface, the sur ace on one member being concentric to the surface to be rounded when finished, while the surface on another Viiieriiber is eccentric. to the said rounded Surface, rollers for engaging the surface of the object to be rounded adapted to roll on Said bearing surfaces, and means for producing relative movementbetween the members of the support to vary the path of the rollers, substantially as de scribed.

2l. In the method of rounding circular objects,' the steps consisting of supporting it" an object at a plurality of `spaced points,

my hand.

GEORGE E. MIRFIELD. 

